The Big Golf Race, the UK’s biggest golf fundraiser that encourages players to go the extra mile and raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK, has surpassed the £1m donation mark this year following incredible efforts by golfers up and down the country.
Golfers have been taking on the 36, 72 or 100-hole challenges this summer to raise money for life-saving research, with more than 2,800 undertaken this year so far. Inspiring stories of extraordinary challenges to support family members and friends have been shared, including Gordon Rea, who along with 31 others raised over £22,000 after playing 72-holes at Helens Bay in Bangor, Northern Ireland; and Mike Bee, from Newbury, who organised 72 golfers to take part in his fundraising day at Donnington Valley Golf Club in May and raised over £11,000.
“We need to act faster to fund research into testing and more effective treatments, plus encourage men, particularly over 50 to get a PSA blood test. That’s why we take on The Big Golf Race every year to keep men in the game for longer,” said Mike.
Since its inception in 2020, more than 14,000 golfers have taken part in The Big Golf Race and have now helped raise £4.4m so far to fund lifesaving research to radically improve the way the most common cancer in men is diagnosed and treated.
“This year’s Big Golf Race has once again proved that golfers are incredibly generous with their fundraising efforts and once an idea is backed by a few, it snowballs and suddenly the whole golf club is behind it, which is great to see,” said Seren Evans, Head of Events and Community Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK.
“Surpassing the £1m mark is an amazing achievement and from everyone at Prostate Cancer UK, we thank all of those who have played a part in getting us to this major milestone,” she added.
Golf media publications and brands have also played a part with staff from Golf Monthly, bunkered and National Club Golfer recently taking part in their own challenges.
Neil Tappin and Dan Parker of Golf Monthly braved the elements all day to complete a 72-hole challenge at Burhill Golf Club in May, whilst Alex Perry from bunkered and Hannah Holden of NCG completed the Ultra-Marathon of 100 holes.
“I didn’t really know what to expect when it came to taking on the 100 holes in a day,” said Perry. “We went into this thinking we would raise a few hundred pounds for an incredibly worthy cause, and as it stands, we are north of £3,000 – so we are absolutely delighted and we can’t thank people enough for the support and kind words of encouragement,” he added.
Titleist also took part in a 72-hole challenge with eight staff members taking on St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club and raising an incredible £6,770, the most by any industry publication or brand.
Including The Big Golf Race in a year-long charity drive is what Chestfield Golf Club did with members getting behind Captain David Wells’ efforts to support Prostate Cancer UK during his tenure and together they raised more than £25,000 through various events with over £8,000 coming from The Big Golf Race itself.
As well as leading the fundraising endeavours, Wells also encouraged members of the club to get tested themselves.
“Overall, we understand that 40 members got themselves tested and out of that 40, at least five guys needed treatment for the cancer,” he said. “One guy who got tested on the back of it went into radiation treatment recently, while others are still getting tested. So just imagine what can be done if every golf club captain adopted a similar approach,” he added.
The Big Golf Race has also recently been included in The Massive Top-25 – a list of the most successful charity-owned mass participation events – for the second consecutive year, and is the only golf challenge to make the list after raising £1.65m last year. Climbing to 17th spot from 19th in 2023, The Big Golf Race joins the likes of Race for Life and Movember in the top 25.
For more information on The Big Golf Race and how to get involved in raising money for Prostate Cancer UK visit www.prostatecanceruk.org.